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Events
Last month, Pam Lowery of BPI invited some of the BPA interior designers to make a trip to Schluter Systems’ North American headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Schluter Systems hosted a workshop to discuss the challenges in traditional floor, wall, and exterior tile applications as well as new technologies available to address these issues. Working sessions and seminars were given throughout the visit with topics covering building efficiency and LEED, tile installations, proper drain installation, water-proofing and moisture management.
The ladies also made time to explore the cultural gem that is Quebec’s most populous city. They enjoyed a dining cruise on Le Bateau-Mouche down the St. Laurent River and under the Jacques Cartier Bridge, a walking tour of Old Montreal and the Port, a tour of Le Notre Dame cathedral, and a visit to world-famous Gibby’s Steakhouse.
A special thank you to Steve Brasington and William LeBlanc from Schluter Systems for graciously hosting the visit and to Pam for coordinating the festivities!
Schluter Systems: https://www.schluter.com/schluter-us/en_US/
The 2017 IIDA Alabama Chapter IDIE Awards lived up to its Rock and Roll theme this year, from the venue to the trophies. The twelfth biennial event held this year at Iron City hosted over 325 attendees, including Educators, Students, Interior Designers, Architects, and Vendors, and as well as clients who’s projects were being honored. Birchfield Penuel was proud to be represented in two categories: Best Of Corporate – Large for Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Best of Healthcare – Large for New Western Health Center for Jefferson County and St. Vincent’s Chilton Hospital.
(L-R: Russ Realmuto, Kelsie Perry, Maria Glaser, Amy Estock, Laura Yeatman, Marlee Caldwell, Tom Kidwell)
Each firm represented was also invited to create an album cover to be used in the program. Although no official award was given for Best Album Cover, BPA's was chosen as the overall favorite!
(L-R: Laura Yeatman, Melissa Porter, Amy Estock, Wallace Williams, Marlee Caldwell, Maria Glaser, Kelsie Perry)
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to the 2017 IDIE Awards Committee!
We'd like to give a special shout out to one of our favorite sculptors and artists, Richard Miree, for his wonderful work designing and sculpting all of the design awards for the event! Visit his website to check out his other work. http://richardmiree.com/
On November 19th, BPA teamed up with Alcohol and Drug Abuse Treatment Center (ADATC) staff for a workday at their Pearson Hall facility in western Birmingham. ADATC is a non-profit facility that provides chemical-dependency treatment services. The team was able to make a significant impact in a short time with carefully chosen material solutions, brightening up the environment for those receiving treatment and improving long-term maintenance for staff.
A special thanks to Fred Armstead at Pearson Hall for allowing us to be of assistance for a few hours, and to the staff for their help. We would also like to thank the donors that supplied materials for our workday: Brown Sales/Acrovyn provided over 200 square feet of wall protection material; Sherwin Williams provided 12 gallons of interior paint; and Armstrong Ceilings provided 500 square feet of acoustical ceiling tile.
More information about ADATC can be found at https://adatc.org/.
On May 14th, BPA teamed up with high school students from Central Park Christian School to move 30 bunk beds donated by Central Park Baptist Church to Stoney Creek Camp in Vinemont, AL. These bunk beds will be used in the new dorm facility that has just been completed. After a day of moving and transporting bunk beds everyone had the opportunity to enjoy the camp’s extensive zip-line trails.
Stoney Creek Camp provides summer camp experiences at no cost to inner-city and underprivileged children. Below is a link to the camp’s website to find out more about the camp and their mission.
Last weekend was the 2016 American Institute of Architects’ Annual Conference, held this year in Philadelphia. It was an invigorating weekend with energizing speakers, hundreds of interesting seminars, city sketching tours, playful installations, the unveiling of new technology and gadgets, and even a historic moment. Here are some of the highlights below.
Robert Venturi + Denise Scott Brown, recipients of the 2016 AIA Gold Medal
Denise Scott Brown, studying her 2016 AIA Gold Medal
View of the Expo Floor, photo credits: AIA
Neri Oxman, Keynote Speaker, photo credits: AIA
An NCARB staff member showing a pilot version of ARE 5.0 off. photo credit: NCARB
Our own BPA designer, Allison Vosicky, outside the Expo Hall.
Neri Oxman, an architect and a professor at the MIT Media Lab, was the Keynote speaker for Day 2. She captivated the crowd with a presentation on the intersection of technology and biophilic design, and the possible applications for that work in the future of design and architecture.
In a historic, and emotional moment, Denise Scott Brown and Robert Venturi were awarded the 2016 AIA Gold Medal. As the AIA states,
“The Gold Medal is the highest honor the AIA can confer on an architect or architects. It acknowledges a significant body of work that has had a lasting influence on the theory and practice of architecture. “
This recognition is so noteworthy because not only was it the highest award an architect could receive, but never in the award’s 109 year history has it ever before been awarded to a duo. In fact, the AIA changed their bylaws so that they could award the medal to both Venturi and his wife, and life-long collaborator, Scott Brown. Mrs. Scott Brown was escorted to the stage and greeted by a powerful standing ovation.
This years’ #ILookup Film Challenge was launched during the conference. “The I Look Up Challenge calls upon filmmakers to share their vision with a 2-3 minute video exploring the power of architecture to create solutions and uplift communities.” – AIA. To kick off the challenge, the AIA released a short film documentary featuring Rural Studio, a community design-build program through Auburn’s Architecture school that several of our BPA architects and designers have had the privilege of participating in over the years. Here are both links to the Rural Studio Film and the ILookUp Film Challenge.
Earlier this week, the Auburn University Urban Studio hosted its end of year Open House to display the final projects of the 5th year Architecture students who've been a part of the Birmingham based program. This year's project had the students focus their efforts on developing a master plan for the Innovation District here in Birmingham, and within that, their individual final projects. Their hard work and talent was evident in the work displayed. A special shout-out to our co-op intern, Krystal Duchene--we're proud to have worked with you while you were at Urban Studio. We know you're going to be successful wherever the road takes you.
Links: Auburn University Urban Studio Auburn University Auburn University College of Architecture, Design and Construction
Photo Credits: Auburn University Urban Studio
Birmingham's chapter of the American Institute of Architects is one of the most engaged in the country, providing numerous services to local architects. One of those services is regularly scheduled site visits for the chapter's Emerging Professionals, a group of Birmingham's brightest young architects and interns. These site visits not only help us better understand the tangible, real-world side of what we do, but also help us fulfill the on-site requirements of our professional licensure process. This week one of our interns took advantage of the most recent of these opportunities and visited the site of the future Southeast headquarters of Gray Construction.
Gray is currently renovating the former Booker T. Washington building at the corner of 3rd Ave. N and 18th St. in downtown Birmingham. The office building is situated at the very heart of one of downtown's brightest stars, the Theater District. We appreciate the investment Gray has made in the continued revitalization of our great city, and look forward to them occupying their new home.
Photo credit: Charlie Abram, Graduate Architect at BPA
This past weekend, BPA joined the St. Vincent’s Marching Saints team for Walk MS Birmingham, at Regions Field and Railroad Park. The weather was beautiful and the energy of the event was amazing! It was St. Vincent’s 4th year participating in the Walk and the team ranked in the top 10 overall in fundraising, which is an incredible accomplishment. The Team and the Walk are both very close to their fundraising goals. Please visit the Walk’s website for more information on how you can help create a world free of MS: http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/ALCWalkEvents?pg=entry&fr_id=27185
Last week, Kari Davis with J+J Invision was kind enough to take the BPA interior designers on a tour of their carpet manufacturing facilities in Dalton, Georgia.
The trip began in Chattanooga with a glass blowing class at iGNiS Glass Studio, some spare time for a self-guided walking tour, and a fabulous dinner at Easy Bistro & Bar downtown. We stayed at The Bluff View Inn which was conveniently located to the Hunter Museum of American Art (seen behind us), the glass bridge shown above, and the pedestrian foot bridge that crosses the Tennessee River. In just an hour we were able to explore all of these things and soak up some sunshine along the way!
The next morning we made the short drive to Dalton where we spent the day learning the ins-and-outs of carpet production from the design team's studio (we even got a sneak peek of future designs!) to the packaging and distribution of the modular tiles. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures on-site but promise we looked really good in our neon vests and headsets.
The mill tours are beneficial to both suppliers and specifiers because they provide a chance for interaction and discussion on future trends and needs in the industry. We were grateful for the good company, cuisine and experiences this trip had to offer!
"Then I realized.. Adventures are the best way to learn." - Author Unknown
We had a great time at the Auburn University AIAS Internship Fair! The Auburn students brought their best, and we were definitely impressed! Those of you that interviewed with us had the opportunity to see some of our work through a virtual reality headset, and you were also entered in a drawing to win a virtual reality headset of your own. Congratulations to the giveaway winner, 4th year student Carley Chastain!
It was a pleasure to meet all of you. We wish you the best of luck on your studio projects and your futures!
Also, don't forget that we have another giveaway coming up on March 18th! More information can be found here: http://www.bpa.net/blog/2016/2/29/its-giveaway-time and our social media accounts.
